NOW With David Brancaccio

Final Episode Airs Friday, April 30, 2010 at 9 p.m. on KPBSTV

"NOW On PBS" has come to the end of its broadcast run. The last episode will air on April 30, 2010. PBS announced last fall it was canceling "NOW" and providing funding for a new public affairs show called "Need To Know."

So why was "NOW" cancelled? PBS made a strategic decision to reallocate resources as part of a broad effort to reinvigorate public affairs coverage on the network. Here's how Paula Kerger, the CEO of PBS, put it in a speech last month:

"Journalism doesn't need simply a rescue; it needs a reinvention....The latest Pew research tells the tale. Forty percent of Americans are participating in the creation of news by posting stories to Facebook, highlighting stories on Twitter and debating the issues of the day through dueling YouTube videos. News has become a social experience and journalism must consider those implications."

Kerger described "Need to Know", the new public affairs show funded in large part by PBS, as "a series where reporting will originate online before it moves on air." The series premieres May 7th.